The Son of Promise
by
Philip du Nard
Genesis 19-22
In Genesis 19, we have the story of God's judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah and the beginnings of the Moabite and Ammonite nations of Bible history. In the "New" Scriptures, Jude verse 7 provides some food for thought that may make this example relevant for the time in
which we are living.
Chapter 20 shows how God watched over Abraham and Sarah. Much was at stake here and Satan's thought undoubtedly was to try to thwart God's plan for this couple early on. Psalm 105:14 makes reference to God's protective action.
In Genesis 21, Isaac, the son of promise, is finally born. Once he is, the presence of Ishmael in the household becomes an issue and a source of contention. Ishmael was Abraham's son born of Hagar. In Genesis 16, when there had been bad feeling between Sarah and Hagar before, Hagar fled but God told her to return. But now, when Sarah wants Hagar and Ishmael to leave and this troubles Abraham, God confirms that they should leave.
The text reads,
Verses 9-12: " And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called."
Thus, God's promises to Abraham were to be realized in Isaac and his descendants. It seems that the last phrase, "in Isaac shall thy seed by called," has found a more literal fulfillment than many people realize. In the section of our discussion on Genesis 17 we concluded that we would expect to find the seed of Abraham as the nations of Christendom, One of the ancient tribes that formed the ethnic basis for the English and many of the Germans was a tribe known as the Saxons. The ancestry of these people has been traced to a more ancient people known to the Persians variously as Saacasuni, Sacasene, etc. who apparently originated in the region where the tribes of Israel were deported to by the Assyrians. The Hebrew alphabet is one of consonants so the proper vowel sounds do not always carry over into translation. Thus, it has been suggested that the ethnic terms cited above may mean "sons of Isaac."
Genesis 22 contains the story of Abraham's faith being put to the test when God asks him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. God also expands on his promises to Abraham because of Abraham's faithful obedience in this. We have marvelled at how Abraham's faith has developed that he would do this. There has been much speculation as to whether Abraham believed God would intervene in the manner that He did as one might conclude from Abraham's statement to Isaac that God would provide a lamb or whether he thought God really would have to raise Isaac from the dead in order for His stated plan for Isaac and his descendants to be realized but, in any case, there is more significance to this incident than the testing of Abraham's faith and obedience.
In verse 9, we read," And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood." We can better appreciate the significance of this event after reading the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matt. 23:19,. In His stinging condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, He says,"[Ye] fools and blind: for whether [is] greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" Thus, we learn that the altar sanctifieth the gift and so when Abraham placed Isaac on the altar before God, this signified the sanctification or setting aside of Isaac and his descendants as a race of people to be used of God.
Continuing in Gen. 22 starting at verse 10, we read," And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen."
Some have suggested that Isaac as the promised seed figuratively dying symbolizes Christ but that is not the case. It is the ram that was offered in his stead that symbolizes Christ and the important thing to note here is that what the death of this ram provided for and ensured was not, in this instance, the eternal salvation of individuals. There were other sacrifices that provided for that as they represented the perfect sacrifice of Christ dying on the cross of Calvary. Rather, this particular sacrifice ensured the sanctification of the descendants of Isaac as a special people to be used of God.
When we realize that all these animal sacrifices symbolized what Christ accomplished by His death, then we must also realize that Christ dying on the cross provided for the same thing, the sanctification of the Isaacsons. To limit Christ's work of atonement on the cross to the eternal salvation of individuals is a device of Satan.
God then blessed Abraham further. The text continues starting in verse 15, "And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
Again, a multiplicity of seed is emphasized and we would gather that this promise is increased in scale. But there is also an additional promise that Abraham's seed would "possess the gate of his enemies." The gate of a city was an important place in Bible times. To possess the gates of one's enemies suggests some type of strategic advantage. As vague as this promise might seem making it difficult to pin down exactly what this translates into or what the specific fulfillment might be, it is nevertheless true that Britain, as one of the nations of Christendom, did, at the height of her power, possess the strategic "gates" such as Gibraltar, Suez Canal, etc. and was a great naval power (as is the United States) which enabled her to project her power worldwide. More recently, the United States certainly possesses the gate of Iraq as we have the Persian Gulf under control. In any case, we would be hard-pressed to find the fulfillment of this promise in a people unable to project this kind of power.
Next: A Wife for Isaac